Leak on a Bromley Street or in Your Home: Who Fixes It?

If the water is coming up in the road or the pavement, it is almost certainly Thames Water’s pipe and Thames Water’s job: report it to them online or on 0800 316 9800, and you do not need a plumber. If it is inside your boundary (the front garden, the drive, under the house or indoors), it is your supply pipe and your repair, and Thames says you must fix it within four weeks of knowing about it. The line between the two is your property boundary, and a ten-minute meter test usually tells you which side you are on.

Who supplies water in Bromley?

Thames Water supplies the whole London Borough of Bromley and runs the public sewers too. So for BR1 and BR2, whether you are in a flat by Bromley South, a semi in Bromley Common or a villa in Bickley, the water company is Thames. You will not be dealing with SES or South East Water here.

What does Thames Water fix, and what do I fix?

Thames Water puts it plainly: it is responsible for public water pipes, which are usually found under roads and pavements. You are responsible for leaks within your property boundary, and that includes your internal plumbing and the supply pipe under your garden and driveway.

In practice:

• Water rising through a crack in the pavement or the road: Thames’s pipe. Report it.
• A wet patch at the outside stop tap cover: could be either. The stop tap itself and the pipe up to it are usually on Thames’s side; the pipe running from it towards your house is yours.
• A soft, green, always-damp strip across the front lawn: usually your supply pipe.
• Water under the floor, a stain indoors, a hissing sound in the wall: yours.

If you rent, Thames is clear that your landlord is responsible for fixing leaks, so tell them in writing straight away.

How can I tell which side the leak is on?

Use your water meter. Most Bromley meters sit in a small chamber in the pavement or front path, under a lid you can lift with a screwdriver.

The test works like this. Turn off every tap and water-using appliance in the house and note the meter reading. Then turn off your internal stopcock as well and watch the dial for ten or fifteen minutes.

• Meter stops when the stopcock is off: the leak is inside the house.
• Meter keeps moving with the stopcock off: the leak is on the pipe between the meter and the stopcock, which is your underground supply pipe.
• Meter not moving at all, but water still bubbling in the pavement: that is very likely Thames’s main or communication pipe.

If you are not on a meter, the signs are the same ones Thames lists: a damp patch that never dries, a drop in pressure, a sound of running water when everything is off.

Why does Bromley get so many supply pipe leaks?

Much of Bromley sits on London clay. It swells when wet and shrinks in a dry summer, and as it moves it bends and cracks old supply pipes under front gardens. Many of the Victorian and Edwardian houses still have their original lead or iron pipe out there. That is why a water bill that jumps in September, after a dry summer, is such a common Bromley story. Thames also points out that over 95% of leaks are never seen by customers because they are deep underground. A creeping meter is often your only clue.

What do I do if the leak is on my side?

Thames Water’s position is that once you know about a leak on your side you must fix it within four weeks. If you are on a meter and get it fixed in time, you may be able to claim a leak allowance for the water you lost. Thames also notes that if the work is not done by a WaterSafe approved plumber, it may come and check it. Keep the plumber’s invoice and a note of the dates.

The order of work is simple: find the leak precisely, dig once, repair or replace. On a long front garden it is often cheaper and less destructive to run a new plastic pipe than to patch a ninety-year-old one. If you have a big plot, our guide on supply pipe leaks under Chislehurst drives goes into how a leak is pinned down before anyone breaks ground.

What do I do if it is Thames Water’s?

Use Thames Water’s “Report a problem” page online, or call Thames Water on 0800 316 9800. Give the exact spot (the house number it is outside of, and which side of the road), how fast the water is coming out, and whether it is going into any property. Take a photo with something for scale. You do not need to pay anyone, and you should not dig in the pavement yourself.

It is worth knowing that Thames has just finished a £15 million, three-year upgrade at its Shortlands water booster station, with new pumps and power systems intended to lower the risk of bursts in Bromley. That is good news for the network, but it does nothing for the pipe under your garden.

Is the stopcock on my side?

Yes. Your internal stopcock is yours, and it is the first thing to turn if water is coming out anywhere inside. In a Bromley terrace it is usually under the kitchen sink or under the front floorboards; our guide to finding the stopcock in a Bromley Victorian house has the full list of hiding places.

Need a plumber now?

If the meter test points to your side, or water is coming out indoors, Call 07868 281022. Tell us your postcode, where the water is showing, and whether the stopcock is off. We do leak detection in Bromley and water leak repairs across BR1 and BR2, and we agree the price with you before any work starts. More on the area on our Bromley page.